CNN) Being in the hospital for coronavirus is scary enough. Then seeing your doctor or some other health care worker come in with a mask, glasses, hood and all the other protective gear? It can make a tough situation even harder.

Thats why Robertino Rodriguez, a respiratory therapist at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, put a laminated photo of his face along with his name on his PPE gear an effort to put his patients at ease. He shared his ideaon Instagramand has more than 30,000 likes.

Yesterday I felt bad for my patients in ER when I would come in the room with my face covered in PPE, Rodriguez wrote in the post. A reassuring smile makes a big difference to a scared patient. So today I made a giant laminated badge for my PPE. So my patients can see a reassuring and comforting smile.

Rodriguezs idea has inspired other healthcare workers, too.

Derek DeVault, a nurse in Los Angeles, and some of his coworkers took a cue from Rodriguez. He called the idea amazing.

These patients are alone in the hospital, not allowed visitors and surrounded by a care team thats covered head to toe in PPE, he told CNN. Seeing a picture of whos underneath could bring ease and comfort at such a stressful time.

Since January, there have been more than 491,000 Covid-19 cases in the US, and more than 18,000 have dieddue to the virus.The peak is expected to occur on Sunday,according to experts.

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Health care workers are wearing smiling photos of themselves on their PPE - WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland